Editor’s Note: It’s no secret that I am a collector of books. I love them; especially the ones that contain deep insights into common topics or esoteric discussions of areas not so clear. In Walther von Krenner’s book, Following the Martial Path,...

by Ken Jeremiah Studying the martial arts is a spiritual pursuit, but at the beginning, students rarely understand this. They see everything in black and white. There are no shades of grey. Techniques are nothing more than devise used to control or injure another, and...

by Walther von Krenner When I first met the founder of Aikido, Ueshiba Morihei (O-Sensei), he was 84 years old and he did not teach in Tokyo every day. I remember entering his office, which has a small door reminiscent of those found on traditional teahouses, and...

by Walther G. von Krenner with Ken Jeremiah Originally, the Japanese language did not have a term for green. The word ao referred to both blue and green. The colors were so close that they were just considered different shades. This might seem strange to speakers of...

By Herb Borkland This romance between martial arts and enlightenment is a global cliché. Philosophic boxers wander through the world’s imagination. Kung-fu cinema stars flying Zen monks whose chi can knock down walls. Anime is full of spry and spiritual old warriors;...

Aikido founder Ueshiba Morihei, affectionately called O-Sensei (Great Teacher) by students, warned, “In your training, do not be in a hurry, for it takes a minimum of ten years to master the basics and advance to the first rung.” There are many steps. If it takes...